Hales steers England to thrilling T20 win vs India

Instead, the first match was decided by Kuldeep, and the second by some excellent bowling and fielding from England. There's very little chance the position from which Stokes scored his runs is going to be important to Morgan, as he is in dire need of more players who aren't vying for a spot in the top-two.

Rendered ineffective in the previous match, India's wrist spinners Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal would look to bounce back against "well-prepared" England batsmen as the two teams clash in the series-deciding third Twenty20 global, here on Sunday. Jonny Bairstow then showed that practicing against the spin-bowling machine had paid dividends.

'As captain, very happy to see that.

"When I went for 22 in an over I thought the T20 is a amusing format and the only thing to do was to come back and bowl my best balls".

Talking further about the improvements in his batting that have seen him become one of the most dependable batsmen in the Indian line-up, Rahul said, "Before this I didn't play too many global runs due to whatever reasons, injuries or I have been in the team and not played in the XI". It's about having a bit more of a plan and more composure.

Kohli said: "The comeback from the bowlers was outstanding - I thought they would end up getting 225 or 230 which would have been tough". England had a good opportunity to amass a huge total, but India fought back after the twin dismissals of the English openers. The biggest surprise of the match was the exclusion of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Kuldeep Yadav from the Indian playing XI. I guess it would do, yeah.

"We were pushed back initially in the first six". Unfazed by whatever England threw at him, the skipper hit 47 off 38, showing all his class and superb wristwork, shining on another poor day for the Indian batsmen.

As he and India contemplate doubling up to seal the three-match series in Cardiff on Friday night, Rahul admits he was running out of theories about why he was habitually falling short of three figures in both worldwide and domestic cricket. Quite honestly I didn't know what to make of it, whether I was in form or out of form. I've been working really hard on my fitness. It's amusing how quickly things can change.

In the next over, Buttler took Umesh Yadav (1/48) for two back-to-back fours to set the tone for his team before Roy turned on the heat.

A bouncy, swinging track at the Sophia Gardens treated us to an exciting match, one that went down to the last over. And this was how it was meant to be for the entire batting line-up. The same is true for England as well, particularly regarding their batting order. Wherever I find myself I have to adapt and keep learning, and that was a different role tonight, it was like me and Jos swapped roles.